Crawling Out of Pain, For That Glimmer of Light

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Though he was slow, Ye Chen persisted. He would never allow the pain he had suffered before to happen to him again.

Behind Vergo, Smoker, and Ye Chen was Hina, the exquisitely pretty girl who was clearly destined to grow into a great beauty. Even Shu and Very Good could not compare to her; she was quite a lovely sight.

Not far away, Zephyr's eyes held admiration. Yet that admiration was not for Vergo, who was running first, nor for Smoker or Ye Chen. It was for Hina.

That was right. So far, Hina was the one Zephyr was most satisfied with.

Just think about it: she was only thirteen or fourteen, and a girl at that. Girls were naturally somewhat weaker than boys, yet she had held on for so long without falling behind. That was enough to show Hina's determination.

In comparison, Vergo, Smoker, and Ye Chen seemed somewhat lacking, even if they were currently in the lead.

The contrast was simply too glaring.

Finally, after an hour, the ten laps were over. Yet only three people remained standing.

Vergo, Smoker, and Ye Chen. But all three were trembling uncontrollably, especially their legs, which had completely gone beyond their control.

The only pity was that Hina had been unable to hold on during the middle of the ninth lap and collapsed. Shu and Very Good were about the same, both half a lap short.

As for the others, they had basically collapsed by the eighth lap.

Thus, only Vergo, Smoker, and Ye Chen had completed the task.

Yet Zephyr wore no pleasant expression.

"A bunch of trash! You can't even finish this little distance. How are you supposed to uphold justice and protect your families in the future?"

His tone was incredibly stern, and no one dared meet Zephyr's eyes.

"You three have disappointed me. You only barely passed."

After reprimanding the others, Zephyr looked at Vergo, Smoker, and Ye Chen. This round of training had given him a rough understanding of everyone's endurance, willpower, and other qualities. It was not comprehensive, but it was enough for a general assessment.

Without a doubt, based on this run alone, Vergo, Smoker, and Ye Chen were the three who satisfied Zephyr most. Still, he was only barely satisfied. Put another way, they had merely scraped by.

"You can't even compare to a girl. What kind of men will you be in the future? Now get running again, and don't stop until I tell you to!"

Everyone shuddered and looked at the three with pity. Had they somehow angered Admiral Zephyr?

In truth, it was just the opposite. Zephyr had great expectations for the three of them.

To find three promising seedlings right from the start, Zephyr was honestly quite gratified. In the future, the Marines would gain three more vice admirals, perhaps even admirals.

Ye Chen was the first to move. He said nothing and did not even furrow his brow. He merely gritted his teeth and began running slowly. Vergo frowned and followed suit. Only Smoker wore an unhappy expression, but under Zephyr's stern gaze, he finally started running as well.

This time, Ye Chen ran with a steady rhythm. He did not sprint at the beginning, instead starting slowly as his breathing gradually found its cadence. His mind was blank. He simply ran.

And so, the three ran beneath the sun until sunset.

Throughout it all, Zephyr watched with a stern expression. Hina and the others rested on the grass nearby and watched as well.

During that time, no one left, no one ate, and no one dozed off. They all watched the three figures on the track, sweating, bent over, and jogging onward.

Everyone watched all afternoon, and the longer they watched, the worse they felt. Many even wanted to join them, ashamed of themselves. But this time, Zephyr stopped them and merely made them watch from the side.

Finally, night fell, and the three could no longer endure. One after another, they collapsed.

To be honest, Zephyr was deeply gratified, because these three had the potential to become vice admirals.

But just as Zephyr was about to carry them away to rest, one of the figures lying on the ground began moving again.

Everyone's mouths fell open as they stared blankly at Ye Chen. He crawled with both hands, slowly passing Smoker.

Their sweat had nearly dried up. All three were severely dehydrated, and one careless mistake could cause them to go into shock and even die.

Lying on the ground, Smoker felt as though his body no longer belonged to him. He gasped for breath, but from the corner of his eye, he saw a figure crawling toward him. Though the figure moved slowly, he kept crawling until he was level with Smoker, then gradually passed him.

Smoker squinted throughout it all, watching Ye Chen slowly crawl past him and toward Vergo in the distance.

Vergo, who had been in front, noticed it as well. He watched Ye Chen crawl up beside him without giving up, continuing onward.

Gritting his teeth, Vergo's originally pale face suddenly flushed red. Then he made the same move and began crawling forward as well.

Have they all gone mad?

Smoker roared inwardly. His body, which had already lost control, somehow began moving again. He started crawling too.

This time, Zephyr's expression changed drastically, and his entire body trembled with excitement. Good. Truly good. These three brats had completely changed his view of them.

Crawling, crawling without end. Ye Chen's eyes were bloodshot. If someone could enter his mind now, they would discover that he was reliving the pain of his past. The road he crawled along was the exit leading toward the light.

He crawled, desperately crawled. He wanted to crawl out, crawl free of torment, crawl free of despair. Yet no matter how long he crawled, in the end, the light still abandoned him and cast him into a bottomless abyss of darkness.

He closed his eyes. Tears slid down his cheeks, and Ye Chen stopped moving.

Whoosh!

A figure appeared in an instant. Zephyr looked at the unconscious Ye Chen, crouched down, and lifted him into his arms. The admiration in his eyes was so profound it could not be concealed.

By crawling alone, Ye Chen had covered half a lap and left Vergo and Smoker far behind. This brat possessed an exceptionally tenacious will.

That night, Ye Chen, Vergo, and Smoker were all receiving treatment in the academy infirmary.

"What exactly has this brat been through?"

With his clothes removed, Ye Chen lay unconscious and naked on the bed. A female doctor looked at the scars covering his body and the blurred patch on his chest, and her eyes twitched.

When Ye Chen had first joined the Marines, he had ruthlessly scraped away the character for slave with a knife. Fortunately, it was not the Dragon's Hoof of the Dragon people. Otherwise, merely scraping away that piece of flesh would have been useless.

"It seems this brat didn't have a very good life before." Regaining her composure, the beautiful doctor began giving Ye Chen some kind of nutrient infusion.

Vergo was much the same. Though he had fewer scars than Ye Chen, his body was still covered in wounds.

Only Smoker had no major scars, because he was a Logia ability user. Once the Marines discovered him, they had protected him.

Different environments shaped different people. That was the difference.